Merging Yoga and OT for Parkinson’s Disease: Preliminary Outcomes

PURPOSE: To assess preliminary outcomes after the Merging Yoga and Occupational Therapy for Parkinson’s Disease program (MY-OT for PD) program. MY-OT for PD was a 14-session program which combined an ongoing community-based yoga for PD program, and group occupational therapy sessions focused on fall risk self-management.

DESIGN: We used a within-subjects design with participants serving as their own controls. Participants were recruited using convenience sampling and the following three main methods: brief presentation at a community adaptive yoga for PD program, presentation at a county PD support group, and flyers in the community. To be included participants were adults, with a self-reported diagnosis of PD, without a severe cognitive impairment, who could stand with or without a device, had transportation to the program and assessments, and agreed to pay $5 for each yoga class or receive a scholarship.

METHOD: Preliminary outcomes were collected at baseline, pre-assessment, and post-assessment were: five scales designed to measure fall-risk management (Falls Control Scale, Falls Management Scale, Fall Prevention and Management Questionnaire, Fall Management Behavior Questionnaire, and Fall Prevention Strategies Survey), the Falls Efficacy Scale—International to measures concern about falling, the Mini Balance Evaluation Systems Test (MiniBEST) to assess balance, the Activities-Specific Balance Confidence scale to assess balance confidence. Weekly check-ins during the control and intervention periods were used to measure self-reported falls. We used linear mixed modelling in R to examine the differences in the preliminary outcomes between the control and intervention periods.

RESULTS: There were fewer self-reported falls in the control vs. intervention periods (10 falls, and 6 falls). The Fall Prevention and Management Questionnaire showed significant improvement between the control and intervention (p=.02). Significant improvements were seen in balance comparing the control and intervention periods (MiniBEST, p<.01). All other outcomes improved following the program but were not significant.

CONCLUSION: MY-OT for PD is a promising intervention that may reduce self-reported falls and improve balance. The program should continue to be adapted based on preliminary findings and manuals should be refined for future iterations. Impact Statement: Occupational therapists must consider their role in fall risk self-management, especially in high-risk populations like people with PD. MY-OT for PD is a manualized occupational therapist led program that reduced self-reported falls and improved balance.

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Schmid, A. A., Van Puymbroeck, M., Portz, J. D., Atler, K. E., & Fruhauf, C. A. (2016). Merging Yoga and Occupational Therapy (MY-OT): A feasibility and pilot study. Complementary Therapies in Medicine, 28, 44-49. doi:10.1016/j.ctim.2016.08.003